Click Clack Scrape
by crazygirlne
Summary: Ficlet in which the Doctor and Rose encounter an odd creature in a museum.


Tumblr prompt from Rointheta: Ten x Rose, Museum, Jitters, Lipstick

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"Here we are," said the Doctor, adjusting his coat over his brown, pinstriped suit as he exited the TARDIS, Rose immediately behind him. "National History Museum, 29th century. The museum closed for ten days this year, so we've got the place to ourselves!"

Rose took his arm as they walked away from the blue police box, nearly skipping.

"And you said they've got an exhibit from modern London, yeah?" asked Rose. "Well, my modern," she clarified.

"Yup," said the Doctor, popping his P lightly as he led them through the museum. "In fact, they've got an exhibit for each decade from 1900 until now. Of course, I can't let you see the ones from your future, dangerous information and all that, but some of the earlier exhibits are brilliant. Not always accurate, mind you, but still brilliant."

As they passed a room marked "1910-1920, London, Earth," there was a loud bang, and Rose jumped slightly.

"Thought you said we were alone in here, Doctor," she said, clutching his arm more tightly but not moving away from the room with the unidentified noise.

"We are," he said, looking intrigued as they moved into the doorway.

Nothing seemed out of place in the room. There was a covered wagon, an antique wedding dress, and a to-scale ship that was designed to be a playhouse of sorts for small children. The walls were lined with informational displays and video monitors for each item of interest, but the monitors were currently turned off.

Before Rose could speak, there was a slight movement in the shadows under the wagon and an odd scuffling noise, a click-click-clack-scrape.

"What was that?" asked Rose, the sound reminding her of large bugs or rats in a creepy film.

"Well, that sounded rather like a three-legged scarpa beetle, but it can't be," he replied, squinting at the space under the wagon. "They're not brought to earth until at least a century from now. Harmless, though, if that's what it is. They avoid humanoids except under very specific circumstances."

From under the wagon slowly crept a strange creature. It was large and lobster-like, a reddish brown with a narrow body and a tail. It had eyes on long stalks, with one leg directly under what passed as its head, two legs under the midsection, and a tail that dragged the ground. Its stalk eyes swiveled around, taking in its surroundings.

"Well, hello, there," said the Doctor in a fond voice. "I haven't seen one of you in years!"

The odd beetle turned its eyes toward the Doctor and Rose, standing completely still as it studied them.

"Oh, we won't hurt you," the Doctor continued. "We're just having a look around."

"Yeah," said Rose, "harmless," though she wasn't sure whether she was reassuring the creature or herself.

The creature began uttering a strange, high pitched growl.

"Ahm, Rose?" said the Doctor as he took a step backwards, a hand placed over hers to encourage her to stay with him. "You remember how I mentioned they're harmless?"

"Yeah," she replied, taking a step backwards as well.

"Well," he explained, "that's when they avoid humanoids, as is their normal behaviour." They took another step backward, the creature still watching them as it uttered the noise that set Rose's hairs on end. "When something makes them stop avoiding humans, well, they're quite fast, and they've got…"

The beetle opened a previously hidden mouth, exposing a row of pointy teeth in a lipless smile.

"Teeth!" finished the Doctor, pulling Rose into a run back toward the TARDIS.

She didn't need any encouragement to keep up, the click-click-clack dragging noise behind them almost muffled by the continued growls.

"What could it want," asked the Doctor, darting a quick glance at Rose as they ran. "The only thing that triggers a three-legged scarpa beetle is the presence of…"

He trailed off as they rounded a corner, TARDIS coming into sight across a large, high-ceilinged room.

"Rose, where did you get the lipstick you're wearing?" he asked.

"Is this really the time to be asking about my lipstick?" returned Rose incredulously, slightly breathless from the speed at which they were running.

"There's an ingredient in the lipstick they sell at the last market we visited, it's a trigger for three-legged scarpa beetles, makes them excessively aggressive," he told her.

"And you didn't think to tell me," asked Rose as they reached the TARDIS, "that my lipstick could get us killed or something?"

They rushed inside, Rose slamming the door just before the beetle got in.

"Well," said the Doctor, rubbing his neck nervously, "the color suited you. Actually, looks even better now that you're all flushed."

Rose looked at him, her mouth open slightly, as the creature continued scratching at the door and emitting its strange growl.

"Right then!" said the Doctor after a moment, bounding over to the center console and flipping levers and switches, pressing buttons as he moved around. "Where to next?"


End file.
